Magdalena Błażek

Self-Concept Clarity and Religious Orientations: Prediction of Purpose in Life and Self-Esteem

The present study concerns the relationship between self-concept clarity, religiosity, and well-being, as well as the mediating influence of religiosity on the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of meaning in life and self-esteem. Self-concept clarity was found to be a significant predictor of sense of meaning in life and self-esteem; intrinsic religious orientation was found to be a predictor of sense of meaning in life, while the quest religious orientation was a predictor for self-esteem. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and intrinsic religious orientation were found to be related to the sense of purpose in life, which would point to religiosity being a mediator of the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of purpose in life. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and quest religious orientation were found to be a predictor of self-esteem, which indicates a mediating effect of this religious orientation in the relationship of self-concept clarity and self-esteem.

Sense of Purpose in Life and Escape from Self as the Predictors of Quality of Life in Clinical Samples

Depression is a leading mental disorder from which suffer Europeans and especially women. In clinical groups with elevated risk of suicidal tendencies, both the negative factors and psychological variables that can protect a person should be analyzed. The aims of the current study were analysis of purpose in life function in perceived quality of life—self-efficacy and life satisfaction among people suffering from depression in comparison with control group and analysis of escape from self (EfS)-function as an indicator of suicidal thoughts occurrence, for suicide attempt and perceived quality of life (life satisfaction). Two studies were conducted on two clinical groups. The first study consists of females, 20 of them with depression and 40 without depression disorder as a control group. Measures used in this study are Purpose in Life Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The second study consists of 60 participants, including 20 who attempted suicide. Measures used in this study are SWLS Scale and an EfS measure. There is a significant meaning of the sense of purpose of life for well-being and self-efficacy. The ability to maintain the feeling of sense of one’s existence seems to be a significant factor that protects from a decrease in life quality and keeps the feeling of being able to deal in difficult situations, as well as helps to accept depression symptoms.

An unorthodox view on the problem of tracking facial expressions

Recent developments in imaging cameras has opened a new way of analyzing facial expression. We would like to take advantage from this new technology and present a method of imaging and processing images of human face as a response to the particular stimuli. The response in this case is represented by the facial expressions and the stimuli are still images representing six basic emotions according to Eckmann. Working hypothesis of presented research, states that the new method of tracking facial expressions is more precise and distinctive enough to give characteristic description of the analyzed human face. The biggest advantage of the presented method, in the opinion of research team, is the fact that it uses remote sensing techniques and presents dynamics of the changes happening on the human face. Therefore, FMRI might not be required, which decreases the costs of experiments, additionally, method is less stressful for the examined persons and provides more natural reactions.

Self-esteem and styles of coping with stress versus strategies of planning in people with psychopathic personality disorders

Summary Background Psychopathy is a notion that has been difficult to define. The operational definition of psychopathy by Hare is one of the most commonly used in psychology and it is usually identified with the scale used to measure this type of personality, which is the Psychopathy Checklist - Revision (PCL-R). PCL-R is composed of two factors: Factor 1 describes a constellation of psychopathic traits considered by many clinicians to be basic for this type of personality, and Factor 2 describes types of behaviour indicating impulsiveness, lack of stability and antisocial lifestyle. The aim of the research was to verify a hypothesis that people with psychopathic personality disorders are characterised by high self-esteem, unconstructive strategies of planning actions and non-adaptive styles of coping with stress. Material/Methods The group of participants included 30 people at the age of 22–36 convicted with a legally binding sentence. Methods were: 1. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revision (PCL-R); 2. Antisocial Personality Questionnaire (APQ); 3. Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS); 4. Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Results The participants were diagnosed as psychopaths (PCL-R), and more specifically – as primary psychopaths (APQ). They revealed a grandiose sense of self-worth, increased self-control, impulsive style of functioning, perceived high self-efficacy (which might be considered as a defence mechanism). Psychopaths prefer a coping style focused on emotions and avoidance. Conclusions The hypothesis was confirmed, that people with psychopathic personality disorders are characterised by high self-esteem, unconstructive strategies of planning actions and non-adaptive styles of coping with stress.

When Membership Gives Strength to Act: Inclusion of the Group Into the Self and Feeling of Personal Agency

ABSTRACT Identity fusion theory suggests that merging groups into one’s personal identity should result in heightened levels of group agency. Research on the self-expansion model complementarily indicates that including others into the self is linked to a greater feeling of self-efficacy. Across three correlational studies, we examined whether personal and group identity fusion is associated with stronger feelings of personal agency, and we propose that relatively stable feelings of clarity of self-concept would mediate this association. Individuals strongly fused with a country (Studies 1–3) and family (Study 2) exhibited greater feelings of agency and goal-adherence, and self-concept clarity emerged as a significant mediator of this association when controlling for group identification measures.

Lifestyle and close relationship trends among young adults in Poland

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of recent relational trends in Poland. Based on the clinical, theoretical, and empirical literature, the overview addresses both attitudinal (e.g., focus on individual need fulfillment and gender equality) and behavioral (e.g., timing of first intercourse and living arrangements) factors. The literature review is divided into four categories: (a) leaving home; (b) intimate relationships; (c) love, sexuality, and fertility; and (d) economics, work, and gender. Although some contrasts to prior generations are noted, the overview focuses primarily on relational trends among the current generation of Polish young adults.

Empatia a postawy wobec przemocy – doniesienie z badań

Opis projektu badawczego i fragmentaryczne wyniki badan z udzialem cześci osob badanych zostaly zaprezentowane podczas XXXVII CICA International Conference on Conflict and Aggression, Zielona Gora 2014.

Charakter więzi rodzinnych oraz uwarunkowania ich kształtowania się w sytuacji okołoporodowej

Exploring bonds and its determinants within the family with newborn infants In the psychological literature there are theories of mother-infant bonding defined as a process that begins in prenatal life. The authors explored the perceived family cohesion amongst people who has just become parents from the perspective of bonding theories. The studies were conducted during 2-3 days after the childbirth. Mothers (the first and the second study) and fathers (the second study) described the current perceived structure of their family system (the position of a newborn child, parents, others in the family), Associations between the perceived family cohesion and personality traits of participants, as well as factors connected with childbirth were examined. The research project was comprised of two studies. Fifty two women took part in the first study, and a group of young parents participated in the second study (29 women and 25 men, including 24 pairs), All women were hospitalized at the Neonatal Clinic – Department of Gynecology and Obsterics at the Medical University of Gdansk, and were 2/3 days after giving birth to a child. Results of the research indicate that mother-infant bonding is a process associated with creating the stability of a family system. Factors that facilitate this process include orientation towards others among mothers, and differentation of self of fathers, as well as their participation in childbirth.